Ocotillo in bloom on the floor of the Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fouquieria_splendens
The sky background is dramatic...dark, threatening thunderstorm clouds.
Then I drove up into the mountains...snow!
But south of us, across the border in northern Sonora and Chihuahua under sunny, dry, breezy skies...forest fire smoke. (Weather satellite image.)
This place continues to have dynamic weather.
Still catching up with my backlog... 
here's a "new" blog post (dated back) with 8 photos and a video from a desert wander in March 2020, just as the pandemic began to fully unfold...
https://www.alex-kunz.com/desert-days-coyote-mountains-wilderness-march-2020/
5
Kelso Dunes, Mojave Desert CA
https://www.trailspotting.com/2025/05/kelso-dunes-mojave-desert-ca.html
The Kelso Dunes tower impressively in the eastern Mojave Desert, forming the second-tallest dune system in California. There are no half measures on this hike - be sure to climb all the way to the top!
Outside the Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park, Lancaster, California
https://pixelfed.social/p/douglaswelch/823623687886791152
#desert #landscape #joshuatree #rocks #rocky #nature #outdoors #photography
"Britains Deserts are Turning Black" [ ± 1-3 min]
by LeaveCurious [Apr 29, 2025]
------for the longer version
---> Britain's Deserts are Turning Black - here's why <- [10:23 min]
---> youtube.com/watch?v=cpmmq0CcD_I <-
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NlumQ2TokAg
Quote by LC:
"Apr 26, 2025
Want to restore the planet’s ecosystems and see your impact in monthly videos? The first 150 people to join Planet Wild with my code CURIOUS4 will get the first month for free at:
-> planetwild.com/contribute-with/leavecurious?code=CURIOUS4 <-
#TakeCareForLife #TakeCareForEarth
#StopBurningThings #StopEcoside #StopThePlunder #StopRapingNature
#ClimateBreakDown
Nice hike up to this alcove today. :) Well, actually, it was a bit of a scramble.
This evening's view out of my combination living room / bedroom door!
Saw this Coatimundi in Tucson the other week. I was driving down Mt. Lemmon trying to photograph the highest saguaro I could find and this little friend came out of nowhere. #coati #tucson #desert #NaturePhotography #AnimalPhotography
Sand And Sky So Blue
Back to White Sands National Park for a bit.
You have to walk a bit to find the dunes without human marks, if that's your thing. It's my thing.
Just wind-made waves.
A week and a half in and my "rubber tramp" setup is working well. I'm cooking meals pretty much like I cook at home. I'm very comfortable sleeping in the back of my truck. Cheap living while I look for a small lot to buy in Bluff, Utah! Oh, and I might add, the 200 watts of solar charges up my 1200W 614Wh Percon E600 in only a couple of hours.
‘Quick trip to desert’ ~ IG April 2025 https://www.girlselfie.com/641814/quick-trip-to-desert-ig-april-2025/ #april #desert #quick #SydneySweeney #trip
“Mesquite Plants, Dunes” — Mesquite plants growing on sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.
Mesquite manages to survive and occasionally prosper in very unlikely conditions. This thriving instance is growing in the middle of dunes in Death Valley, not exactly the most friendly environment. In the dunes, isolated clumps of vegetation like this create their own little ecosystems. The plants interfere with the windblown passage of sand, and in their shelter you can often find evidence of animal life — insects, lizards and snakes, occasional tracks of small mammals…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/04/29/mesquite-plants-dunes/
From last fall, comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the Arizona evening sky! (10/13/2024)
Matthias Wiesmann 
